Quarry's Choice -- Max Allan Collins

Quarry's back and Hard Case has him.  (No extra points if you get the allusion, geezers.)  The year is 1973, and as Quarry and the Broker are leaving a club, someone makes an attempt on the Broker's life.  They didn't figure that Quarry would be there, and he does what Quarry does.  The Broker is shaken and stirred but okay.

Not long afterward, Quarry gets a phone call from the Broker, who has a job for him.  This time, the Broker is the client.  He tells Quarry that the attempt to kill him came from Biloxi, Mississippi, and that he wants Quarry to go there and take out the man behind it.  In the course of the events following his arrival in Biloxi, Quarry gives us a guided tour through the sleazy underbelly of the South in the '70s, the strip clubs and motels and restaurants, all of them so vividly described that you'll think you're there.  

As usual, Quarry gets the job done, but not without some risk and some damage to himself.  He also shows his human side a few times.  He might be a remorseless killer, but he's not just a killing machine.  He has depths.

Quarry's Choice is another top-notch entertainment from Max Allan Collins.  If you've been following Quarry's career since 1976, as I have, you'll have this book ordered or in your hands already.  If you haven't, it's a great place to start.  Check it out.